The Fenner Renewable Energy Education Center welcomes visitors who want to learn more about alternative energy sources. File photo by Maren Guse / The Post-Standard.
Renewable energy advocates say they won't let the collapse of a 187-ton turbine take the wind out of their efforts to promote alternative power sources.

The 329-foot-tall windmill fell early Dec. 27 in the cornfields in the town of Fenner, just east of the village of Cazenovia in Madison County.

The incident surprised local residents who have lived among the towers for nearly a decade as well as industry experts, who were dispatched to the site last week to figure out what caused the accident.

The 20-turbine farm in Madison County was the largest of its kind on the East Coast when it started generating energy in 2001. It has served as a model for more recent projects, with Fenner Supervisor Russell Cary giving countless tours of the facility to other communities interested in seeing the giant towers in action.

Cary, who founded the Fenner Renewable Energy Education -- or FREE -- Center in 2006 in response to the interest from across the country and around the world, said he hasn't lost his faith in renewable energy and hopes the lessons learned from Fenner will prevent future accidents.

"When they find out what happened here, I'm sure they can improve on whatever caused this and make sure this was a one-time event, " Cary said. "If there's a silver lining, it's that they're going to make the whole system work better."

Engineers are working at the site of the collapse to determine whether the cause was design-related or just a fluke. As crews gather information, the facility's other 19 windmills have been shut down as a safety precaution, with power only used for heat and safety lighting. A report on the accident is expected mid-January.

"We're committed to learning all we can about this incident and applying it to insure the continued safe operation of our turbines in North America and in the rest of the world, " said Enel President and CEO Toni Volpe in a release Wednesday.

Cary said the results of the investigation will underscore the need for education vehicles like the FREE Center.

"Things will be happening here that are probably going to happen to someone somewhere else, " he said. "By learning from it, we can prevent it.

"Nothing replaces hindsight, " he continued.

Before the accident, town officials were working with Enel North America on a project that could tie the windmill facility's infrastructure into other alternative energy projects, including solar panels and micro-hydroelectric plants.

"I think wind energy and other renewables are very important to this country, " said Cary, who heads Madison County's committee on energy. "We've got to work the bugs out of them, but this is another learning experience."